Voices of Leadership 2026

Presenter Melissa Shew Ph.D.

Melissa Shew Ph.D. will be presenting "Leading With and For Intellectual Joy," a keynote that focuses on the power of intellectual joy for women at work, in education, and in life generally. An interactive discussion and presentation of cutting-edge research make a case for why we should care about intellectual joy in our organizations and world right now, detailing barriers that still exist especially for women in being valued as thinkers and knowers. Calling on leaders, educators, employees, and students, Shew will compel us all to take specific actions to activate intellectual joy in our organizations and world for everyone, but especially for women who need it most

Melissa Shew (Ph.D., Philosophy) is Associate Director of Teaching Excellence in the Center for Teaching and Learning at Marquette University. She has presented her research from The Power of Intellectual Joy for the Future of Women at Work to thousands of people in a variety of organizations, has given a TEDx Talk called Women and Intellectual Empowerment (2021), and teaches courses on intellectual joy for women at work in Marquette's Executive MBA program, where she is also the faculty director. She is currently adapting this research into a book. One of her other books, Philosophy for Girls: An Invitation to the Life of Thought (with Kim Garchar, OUP 2020) has been translated into multiple languages and has sold tens of thousands of copies worldwide. She is also in the early stages of working on a book about intellectual joy in education

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